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Ed. Note: Adrienne Crew is a new LAist contributor.
This weekend LAist visited the California Gift Show at the LA Convention Center. Sunday's show was pretty well attended.
We look forward to attending the Gift Show every year in the way we used to anticipate visiting the County Fair. There are favorite booths to revisit, but it's best to wander the different halls in wonder of all the crap coming to a gift store or souvenir shop near you.
Ever wonder where merchants on Larchmont, Katella, or Whittier obtain tacky little statues of Santa, scented candles, eye masks, greeting cards, silk flowers or irresistible barware? It's all right here at the “Show.”
Discovered this bamboo-covered moped (pictured) - it was promoting a booth selling bamboo-related items called, aptly, Bamboo 54. Loved the rattan seat covers. That's gotta be comfortable bumping along cobblestone roads!
At the sight of booths that attract little attention, we like to make a point of stopping by to cheer up lonely attendants, surrounded by bright paper and dishes of free candy, staring through the aisles like a mangy mutt at the pound.
So what can we expect to see in local boutiques 3 months down the line?
-Wakco Jacko Halloween masks;
-Ubiquitous Asian-inspired decor items--saw lots of really nice silk lanterns, slides and combs made of horn from Thailand;
-retro as usual-in Exotica, Contemporary Housewares, everything;
And soy candles will rule the universe, according to the hype on display in some of the booths.
